


Second Chances

by BeholdTheDoctoress



Category: DC Animated Universe, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, Aqualove, Beach Sex, Cheesy, Declarations Of Love, Does it count as main character death if she was already dead?, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Love, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, Kaldur x Tula, Love, Love Confessions, My First Smut, Naked Cuddling, Ocean Sex, Oral Sex, Romance, Romantic Soulmates, Sex, Skinny Dipping, Smut, True Love, Vanilla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-10-03 08:04:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10239752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeholdTheDoctoress/pseuds/BeholdTheDoctoress
Summary: Years after the Reach invasion was controlled, a retired Aqualad is called back to the Young Justice HQ with urgency, as Tula is found somehow alive.With his love for her still alive, could this be his time of finding happiness?Kaldur x Tula, purely, the way it should have always been.





	1. Reappearances

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to be loyal to the canon, including the video game and comics canon of how Tula died, however I just want Kaldur to be hAPPY AS NO ONE EVER ALLOWED HIM TO BE so if something don’t match the canon, I tried my best, shut up and enjoy Aquaship, aquakisses, aquamakeouts. 
> 
> It’s supposed to be cheesy and to be everything Kaldur and Tula really deserved.

Kaldur had got the call from the League with suspicion. M'gann’s voice was too vague and calm to match the urgency to his presence at the Young Justice HQ.

 

“Meet us as soon as you can”, and that was all of it.

 

From his hew retiring home, at Atlantis, he got dressed in his old red and black uniform, kissed Tula’s portrait in the table near the front door and started to think while heading to the nearest zeta tube to surface.

Since that confront during the Reach invasion, where she had ripped his mind and uncovered forcefully his double-agent disguise, his relationship with Miss Martian was not ever the same. She finally understood how invasive, how much of a monster she became whenever she took those baby, innocent-like steps into one’s mind to harvest information. And although she and Connor were now back together and forgiveness showered on M'gann after her change of mind, the martian never got to look or talk to Kaldur, not even in a telepathic link, the same way as before Tula’s death. There was always a guilty tone in her voice, a sense of debt in her acts.

 

Until now, Kaldur felt like part of that broken communication was his fault. He assumed telling her he didn’t resent her acts wasn’t enough, and every time the team had a meeting, part of his mind kept repeating “it’s fine, I’m fine, you have no need to worry”, just in case she would take a peek at his thoughts and search for rage, resentment, and trauma.

 

“Aqualad, 018”, the reconstructed headquarters’s security voice said in a monotonous and familiar voice, just to uncover the place empty. Kaldur brought his hands to his back, ready to weapon up and protect himself from a trap when M'gann’s face appeared from the corridor entrance to the basement floor.

 

“Over here”, she called, waving her green hand with an eerie air around her features. Kaldur followed, eyes narrowed, for the first time in forever not appearing absolutely calm and stable around her.

 

“Where is everybody, Miss Martian?”, the atlantian asked when he reached the colleague.

 

“Oh, nobody from the team’s here”, she answered, while typing the password for one of the stashes of the new headquarters, where the most fragile evidence and souvenirs were moved to. “I mean… almost nobody”, she corrected herself, and that eerie air Kaldur had noticed just seemed to thicken.

 

“Then, why the urgency?”

 

“I guessed you’d like to be here as fast as possible, regarding the circumstances”, M'gann kept avoiding a direct answer.

 

With a depressurization sound coming from the sealed stash, the metal doors opened. The martian turned just some of the lamps on - just enough to lighten their path to a table in the center of the room, where a known piece of antique atlantian lifeform rested in a cryogenic capsule.

 

“I reckon you remember this fellow here”, M'gann pointed out to what always seemed to her during briefings like an amputated starfish arm.

 

“I certainly do. This is a Starro”, Kaldur assented with a sigh.

 

It was a day he remembered with mixed feelings at the moment. He used to regard it as the definition of failure - failure in love when he discovered Tula has given up on waiting, failure in duty when they let that ancient starfish be robbed. However, it came to be one of the brightest, most vivid memories he had of Tula, her voice, her presence and her arms around him, and so those failures were given a special place in his heart.

 

Even after all these years - 8, to be precise -, Kaldur had not moved on from Tula’s death. Maybe it had to do with how he used AquaGirl’s end as a fake motivation to deceive Black Manta, and how he continuously ruminated her voice, her ways, her essence on his mind to anger himself when he needed to keep up with the disguise. Maybe it had kept her near his heart for longer than it should, and now it was tattooed in his flesh forever. That would explain how he found himself unable to engage in long, lasting, trustable relationships with the men that crossed his way since then, and how he was unable whatsoever to engage in relationships with any women that appeared in his life.

 

They all reminded him of Tula, and the longer he took to notice that, the more he suffered. Furthermore, Kaldur tried not to think of his dear Tula too much - allowing himself to keep a portrait of her early days at his own place, and kiss the image’s cheek once in a while, in a sort of blessing.

 

Kaldur only noticed Miss Martian kept herself quiet during all of his thinking when he left out another sigh, and it echoed alone around the walls.

 

“Well, what about it?”, Kaldur asked, gazing at her.

 

“Hello, Megan!”, she patted her head, along with saying that classic line. “Get a little bit closer. Tell me if you feel anything… different”.

 

The atlantian obeyed, approaching the frozen creature. It had tripled its size since he last saw it and his muscles moved slowly, in a breathing pattern. Watching now, more intently, Kaldur got a glimpse of a light - as if it was trading little rays of atlantian magic between its cells, and those rays were somewhat familiar, already known by Kaldur like the back of his hand…

 

“It has a bit of the magic I used to feel from Tula”, he said, looking at M'gann with curiosity.

 

“AquaGirl had some little bit of curative talent, didn’t she?”, the martian asked, wanting to be sure before dropping the bomb.

 

“Although never fully developed, she did, yes”, Kaldur nodded. “Why are we talking about Tula?”

 

“Well…” Miss Martian bit her lower lip, nervous. “I just came back from a solo mission to retrieve this capsule… But I didn’t find just it”, she said.

 

M'gann tapped a button below the table, and another capsule, not cryogenic this time, but taller, bigger, started to grow from the ground, filling the empty space illuminated by a single column of light, with a size enough to support a human - or atlantic - body.

 

Kaldur felt his heart stutter, then stop.

 

“It turns out AquaGirl wasn’t killed”, M'gann whispered.

 

Not that Kaldur could hear. A single, burning phrase, almost insane to his senses, occupied his mind entirely:

 

“Tula is alive”.


	2. Renaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tula awakens - to Kaldur's relief and angst.

Kaldur glued himself to the glass of the capsule when it finally arrived at their level. Tula’s face was just as he remembered - delicate in the chin line, full of personality in her closed eyelids, warmth and pure beauty in her lips. Her hair seemed to have grown a bit, maybe reaching the tips of her shoulders, as it floated around in the water of the cylinder. She seemed to sleep in a calm slumber while he observed her lost friend and eternal love back to the real world, back to his world.

“How… How can this be? I held her dead in my arms”, Kaldur muttered after a minute, finally collecting enough courage to take his eyes away from Tula.

“I was not sure myself either”, Miss Martian admitted. “But I think some parts of her were somehow connected with the remnants of Starro that we buried near her sepulture years after. I think their healing properties intertwined and therefore grew several times stronger.”, she took a pause. “However, by the looks of everything, she was probably already in a healing process when we buried her”.

“Are you sure she’s alive? Are you sure this is really her, and not a version, a memory… a copy?”, Kaldur needed to ask. It would hurt too much to discover that what he was seeing did not hold his dearly beloved Tula’s memories.

“I hear her heart beat, and her mind is unbroken. I do not know who put her in this capsule, however, and that is what intrigues me the most. I couldn’t know more than that”, she answered in an apologetical tone.

Kaldur breathed in as much air as he could, feeling suffocated. It was hard not feeling hopeful and delighted with her right there before him, but he should not, as the red-headed atlantian body he saw could be empty, or incomplete, or just be anybody else than Tula.

“Does anybody else in the team knows about this?”, he asked, placing a hand on the glass. It did not felt cold, increasing the impression of life of it all.

“We’re the only ones who know”, Miss Martian revealed.

“Why?”, Kaldur asked.

“I felt you deserved priority in this matter after everything I’ve done to you”, the martian admitted.

The atlantian breathed deeply. With those unsaid words, he understood clearly what M'gann was giving, or rather gifting him: the opportunity of deciding when to awake Tula, be the first by her side, even before anybody else knew it.

An opportunity that obliged Kaldur to ask himself some thorny questions: would Tula want to be awakened? Would she feel good seeing him first, or would she rather awake in someone else’s presence? Would it be right to give such an important order, without a team reconnaissance and discussion?

He couldn’t know the first answer for sure; regardless, remembering with a cold heart the details of her death, the last words left for her friends while her spirit escaped from behind the rubble that crunched her, it was most likely “yes”. And, as for the second question, they were one of the closest people from the team, not even mentioning childhood friends. Maybe Kaldur would be enough for her.

For the third question, Kaldur knew it was unacceptable for him to assume he had enough power and authority on the team’s matters to order M'gann to wake his beloved Tula without warning anyone. Even so, the answer to the other two crucial questions was favorable to her awakening, and besides that, he was sick and tired of living in a world without her, letting duty have priority over his happiness and well being.

“Please wake her up, M'gann”,  Kaldur asked in a whispered voice that made chills climb up the martian’s spine. He only ever said their real names when in need to emphasize his words.

The martian nodded her head without a second check on his decision. Her eyes turned a familiar bright, psychic green for a moment.

Kaldur felt his air turn lighter when he saw Tula’s first real, deep breathing. Her chest moved up and down several times as if the light was disturbing her sleep.

Then, after a brief, static moment, she opened her bright blue eyes, and it was as if the world recovered its gravity for Kaldur. Tula blinked, looked around, recognized the faces of her mutuals and smiled.

“Kaldur?”, was the first name she called, the first word she said. “M'gann?”

“Help me take her out of the capsule”, Kaldur ordered in an airy voice, running to the back of the cylinder she was in.

Miss Martian followed, but her help was not needed. Kaldur found a lever for water evacuation and almost ripped it off the structure, in the most anxious moment of his life. The pavement of the stash got flooded, causing Miss Martian to fluctuate, avoiding getting her feet wet. Kaldur impatiently waited for the water to evacuate before turning two pairs of valves on the side of the cylinder’s back, finally freeing Tula.

Her first steps were unsure, as she herself could not believe, or maybe understand how she was among the living. Kaldur could feel his own knees tremble too, his heart racing as fast as that of the smallest bird on Earth.

All he could think of were her eyes, her breathing, his name in her voice. He wanted to hug her, hold her and never let go, never let any danger near either of them. Nevertheless, afraid that he would scare or hurt her, Kaldur just kept still, admiring his beloved atlantian friend and love walk again.

As soon as her toes touched the wet pavement, Tula took a leap, arms open. She embraced Kaldur around his shoulders, tightly, allowing him to feel her life against his skin.

It was too much to handle. Kaldur wrapped her back with his own arms, tightening the embrace to a suffocated, relieved tone from the male atlantian who started sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’ll leave you two alone”, the martian whispered, smiling with herself, not expecting to be heard in any way. She just soared away from the flooded stash.

Tula carefully held Kaldur, looking at him confused, but lovingly, as she knew from way before how much emotion he could store before letting it out.

“I never thought I would hold you again”, Kaldur said as soon as he controlled his sobbing, turning it into a small cry.

“Me neither”, she admitted, in a sincere giggle that made Kaldur feel warm. “Could you please tell me what happened? Was the mission completed?”

“Tiamat is long dead”, Kaldur told her, with a proud smile.

“Are you sure? There was needed a sacrifice for the sake of sealing him, I remember”, she insisted.

“I am”, and he tried not to think of her body buried in rubble.

“Then… why am I alive?”, she asked him, while letting go of their embrace.

And before he could ask, he got the answer to whether it was really Tula as she looked around and wore a worried face, missing what used to be an essential part of her world, a question he expected to avoid as much as possible:

_“Where’s Garth?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, folks! And sorry for another cliffhanger - I'm very fond of them. Maybe it's some kind of sadic inclination - the same one that didn't allow me to just make things easy for Kaldur. Of course, I couldn't just erase Tempest out of it. 
> 
> Same old same old: please tell me if you find any mistakes, any weird phrases, this kind of thing. I found myself a beta (actually it's just the gf being a guinea pig), but we're both non-native speakers, and above all, we're human.
> 
> feedback on how you expect the story to happen or things you'd like to see are very appreciated too. I'll be trying to post chapter of ~1,500 words each, to keep things short and dynamic. 
> 
> This chapter's name is not in english, as you may have noticed - it's in french, and it means "the process of reborn". It just felt more suitable than "reborning" or "renascency". 
> 
> Hope to hear from you! Until next chapter!


	3. Recognition

Kaldur put a smile on his face – forced, he knew, and he knew Tula could point that out too, just as his mother would if she was ever around and had raised him.

“He’s alive, and fine. Retired as me”, answered the atlantian.

“Oh, I’m glad”, she smiled, but just a bit. She never forgot his words from those days when he had just joined the “sidekicks team” – saying that he was back to Atlantis to stay, for her. 

And knowing Kaldur as she knew, Tula has almost sure he still had lingering feelings towards her. The way his clear blue eyes, almost gray, peered at her had the same enchanted impression.

An impression Garth did not convey often, even on their best days. Something she always liked on Kaldur: his quiet, charming way of feeling things around him, without losing control of his acts even in the most heated situations – be it on hard and insulting battles, be it on every visit he made to Atlantis after discovering she and his best friend were together.

If Tula was to be truly, deeply honest to herself, she would admit she thought way too many times how it would have been if she waited just a little more for Kaldur to visit, instead of settling for Garth.

Not that she did not love Garth. She did. She loved her Tempest with all of her atlantian heart.

But she actually had to learn how to love Garth. Kaldur’ahm, on the other hand…

”If I may, dear friend”, Kaldur interrupted her thinking.

“Oh, don’t be so formal”, Tula asked. “You know you can be direct with me”, and she smiled, a caring gesture.

Kaldur had to take time and suppress a sigh. Maybe his memories were a lot more faded than he remembered, as for that smile looked even better than the ones he recalled.

“If you say so”, he nodded. “I think we should arrange you a room to rest, or at least have a real check up on your health”.

“Oh, come on, Kaldur. I’ve been away way too many days. I’d rather cut my hair as soon as possible, as it’s tickling my back a lot, and get updated on everything I’ve lost”, she replied, fishing a giggle from Kaldur because of her hair complaints.

It was still sincere and rare, in that deep rasping tone. It sounded more mature now, however, more adult, even less care-free.

That made Tula suspect they were both way older than she thought.

“Kaldur, tell me: for how long were I… dead?”, she asked, piercing his expression with her eyes. She wanted no lie, no deception.

He breathed deeply, something he always did when controlling his fears.

“Your holographic statue in the basement is aged in 8 years”, he said, refusing himself to call her “dead”.

Kaldur expected Tula to be panicked, at least. It was like losing a third of her age in a blink, and he was too used dealing with Arsenal not to contemplate the possibility of post-traumatic fears and consequences.

His red-headed love surprised him by scratching her head in a curious expression:

“Neptune’s beard, that’s a lot of years”, she admitted. “It explains why you look so…”, she stopped.

“So?”, he insisted.

“…well, so mature and strong. You pass out the impression King Arthur always passed me now. Maybe you could rule Atlantis in an emergency”, she answered, as sincere as she always was when complimenting.

Kaldur made a face at her explanation.

“I hope that never becomes true. I’m fine in my retirement”, he admitted, brushing the back of his head with his hand. “Are you sure you do not wish to rest? It’s completely understandable if you feel any counter effects of your awakening-“

“Kaldur, I told you, I feel fine”, and she smiled again, to reassure him. “But I can’t believe you’re really retired. I want to know about that, and everything else that has happened, now”, Tula reinforced.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get out of here, give you something to drink and eat”, he hushed her out of the flooded room.

“You’ll have to tell me everything. Even the nasty bits”, she insisted, walking out of the room.

Kaldur followed her steps with his own and his eyes – being sure she would not be startled because of some sudden weakness of sleepy muscles.

When he got out of the stash, however, the hall of the new headquarters was even more flooded – this time, with people.

“Tula!”, Artemis cried first, running to embrace the atlantian. “It’s real, it’s real! Guys, come closer!”

Kaldur backed off the crowd of young heroes, both old, older and new, all there to salute Tula. Although still afraid, he knew they could care for her just as well as himself. And besides that, it could be therapeutical for Artemis getting in touch with the red-headed atlantian. He owed her that. Kaldur knew just how much the archer still missed her Kid Flash. Both acquired the same look in their eyes for all those years without their significant ones.

The male atlantian found Miss Martian’s face in the crowd – mainly looking guilty. So probably she had spilled the beans. Kaldur smiled at her – maybe even giggled. It was such a M’gann move. And, anyway, the rest of the crew would probably be better at updating Tula, with all the details he could not recall alone, and faster.

And in the meantime, he could take a quick audience with his King. Her reappearance had something to do with him, Kaldur was sure.

Kon-El crossed ways with Kaldur, arriving from the section of the resident’s private rooms.

“What’s the mess?”, he asked the atlantian.

“Tula’s back, Superboy”, Kaldur answered, smiling like a fool for being able to tell those words without lying.

The kriptonian took a glance at the another atlantian, watching as she smiled and hugged all those she fought for and cared about, conquering that part of her life back.

“She seems happy. Does she knows about Garth?”

Kaldur’s smile disappeared.

“She had not queried me about this matter”.

“But you know you’re the one who has to tell. It would be wrong to let anyone else do it”, Kon-El replied quickly.

Kaldur restarted walking to the zeta tube to Atlantis, trying to avoid that confrontation and that responsibility sitting on his shoulders.

“You of all people should be considerate of other people’s love suffering. Think of how you would feel if you were in her shoes”.

“I could never be in her shoes”, Kaldur answered angrily. He hated how everyone on the team was acquainted with his feelings towards that specific atlantian.

“Perhaps not in the past. But Garth is marrying Lorena next week and we both know he already moved on”, Kon-El remembered him. “If you really wish her all the best, you should tell and be there for her suffering and comforting”.

Kaldur nodded, grunting in his head. It would be uncomfortable, yes, but Tula did not deserve to suffer alone as he did.

He was still his friend, he thought while the tube started to glow.

“If she asks, I’m in Atlantis”, he asked Kon-El. “And I’ll be back soon”.

“Aqua Lad, 018”, said the zeta tube, and he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Sorry for the delay! I've got two intense weeks of presenting seminaries at uni. 
> 
> This chapter was written in a one sitting - so, errors or strange phrasing is quite expected. Point them out and I'll correct them. 
> 
> Yes, Garth is marrying. Yes, it's the other Aquagirl. Yes - that means Tula is single. Mweheheheh~


	4. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tula considers her relationship options, while Kaldur talks with Garth and Aquaman about Tula, receiving interesting answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay! Here comes a fresh and slightly longer chapter as compensation. Have a nice reading!

It was sure a lot to take in. Not even in her darkest dreams could Tula have created something like her companions were just saying:

Kaldur had left the leadership of the group after she died, to join the villain Black Manta, who actually was his real father, in a double-agent mission where he executed several questionable actions, all alone, for months – before Artemis could join - in order to save the Earth from the aliens called Reach and disturb the Light's plans completely. The price was really high, as they had lost Wally West and Kaldur had his mind broken by his own dear friend M'gann.

The kind of sacrifice mission that Kaldur have been doing since the King of Atlantis offered his mentoring.

Afterward, he continued to visit his father regularly – as Kaldur would always say himself, "not because he's family, but because I saw the noble side contained in him, and I wish to try to bring this to his surface".

In other words, he kept sacrificing himself – probably as some kind of self-invented punishment for not feeling able to lead the team after the end of his undercover mission.

"Typical Kaldur'ahm", thought Tula, "trying to carry out the whole world in his back – much like the ancient god Atlas". The red-headed was almost rolling her eyes at the details their companions kept giving, incessantly.

This made her think of Garth – which nobody even dared to mention yet, for some reason everybody probably knew and did not want to share. Had he died too? Or was he alive? Had he moved on? Tula had mixed feelings about the situation now. At her final moments, she _did_ wish with all of her heart for the person she most loved in her life to find happiness, companionship, and intimacy again.

However, now that she was alive and kicking, an old part of her – fresh and clear memories of what she had been living 8 years ago – missed being held for long hours, missed being caressed and kissed, missed the safety, loyalty, and satisfaction from a lover's arms. She was physically fine, but the whole situation made her feel out of place, vulnerable, and she could not help but imagine him right beside her.

And so, between one talk and another, Tula started to prepare herself for all possible scenarios regarding Garth – and all the consequences and opportunities they could bring with them.

After all, although with Garth she always did wonder how would things be if him, not Kaldur, had accepted King Arthur's opportunity. And Tula had already noticed by Kaldur's eyes that his feelings hadn't changed since then - just like her own wonderings.

* * *

Kaldur'ahm breathed the water through his gills slowly, trying to calm himself as he waited for the urgent conference with the ruler of Atlantis, King Arthur, who was taking quite long to put his son to sleep. Queen Mera had hosted him for the first minutes in the palace, but as Kaldur knew the place as well as his own house, she retreated herself, leaving him alone at the palace hall, conflicting in his own thoughts.

Now that he had distanced himself from the trance Tula's presence cast upon him, Kaldur started thinking straight.

Tula being alive had nothing to do with him being together with her or being romantically accepted by her.

She was still his friend, yes. But that was all. She had chosen Garth for a reason – a reason that remained valid, or else, she would have chosen himself or any other guy in the world in those early times.

This meant that, actually, nothing had changed. It meant he was still stuck in the same cycle, the same labyrinth of platonic love for the same person, dreaming about her and days together that would never come.

And so, Kaldur started to prepare himself for seeing Tula get her heart broken, mended and then given out to another person, before his eyes.

"Kaldur?", a familiar voice suddenly called.

The atlantian got out of his thoughts and turned around to find Garth standing right in front of him, in full ceremonial suit.

"What are you doing here?", the brunette asked, smiling and tapping Kaldur's back.

"Waiting for a talk with King Arthur. And you? Did I lose the wedding invitation?", Kaldur asked, trying to put a smile on his own face and failing.

"Nah, dinner rehearsal. Can't you wait until tomorrow? Or is it urgent?", Garth asked before finishing analyzing Kaldur's face. "Hm, it's urgent, then. What is it?"

Kaldur hesitated, which made Garth uncomfortable. "Come on. Can't trust a friend anymore?"

"I'm sorry, friend. I just wish not to ruin your night, or your upcoming wedding", Kaldur'ahm admitted in a guilty expression.

"Many things can ruin my wedding, regarding Lorena's crescent anxiety", Garth laughed. "And my own anxiety too, I confess. But nothing can ruin us, so you can go ahead and tell me", he encouraged Kaldur.

The other atlantean sighed and peered Garth with dead serious eyes, an expression he used to transmit orders when he was a Black Manta, and that he kept using when transmitting information that was not to be questioned:

"Tula... is alive, Garth", he said.

The broom lost his smile and Kaldur could see his gills stopped flapping air for a moment. He took his time, and thought, and touched his own chest, trying to reach for his own heart.

"That's great. Would you invite her to the wedding?", Garth asked.

Kaldur'ahm could not believe what he had said.

"You do not wish to see her?", the Aqualad asked back, trying to understand Garth's attitude.

"I do. You know she's dear to me as much as she's to you", Garth said. "But I don't... intend to raise any expectations. I'm with Lorena now – and I love her more than I ever loved Tula, simply because we never got the time to be together as much as I did with my fiancée", Garth explained, sincere.

Kaldur got silent. Garth was right, and above all, firm about his decision.

"I also don't know if she still has feelings for me, but if she does, I ask that you be by her side, Kaldur. And I understand if she doesn't want to see me for a while. But please assure her she's still dear and she's still my friend", Garth asked, and started contouring Kaldur.

"Where are you going?", Kaldur asked, still overwhelmed by all the words.

"Back to the dinner! I just came to retrieve a gift from the queen", he said, already distancing himself. "Lorena will kill me if I don't get back soon. Tell me more about Tula later", he asked and waved at Kaldur, that waved back in a slow and automatic movement.

It was so unexpected to see Garth get so calm about the whole situation. Or, maybe, it was Kaldur who was too worked up about Tula, because he was the only one unable to move on, for Neptune's beard.

A click came from the other side of the corridor, and King Arthur appeared himself, quietly walking to Kaldur, who kneeled and lowered his head.

"Please, Kaldur'ahm. There's no need for this", he whispered. "My child has finally settled down, so please talk low", added the King.

"Yes, my King", and the protégée got up.

"So? Why the urgency?", the blond king demanded.

"Tula is alive, my King, and I have come to bring the news".

"Speak the truth, Kaldur'ahm. I already know this. It was me who called Miss Martian for the mission who rescued her", King Arthur crossed his arms.

"…well, I reckoned you had something to do with this miracle, my King", Kaldur confessed and peered the King with a glimpse of inquisition, something that made the King feel impressed and a little proud.

"I do. I already knew Tula would come back, as the first sealer of the monster you've faced had too", the King revealed.

"How can this be? All evidence we found said the ritual was fatal", Kaldur'ahm questioned, trying to remain respectful although eager to understand.

"That's because the first sealer chose to start his life over, abandoning his last identity after revealing himself to me", King Arthur explained. "Therefore, I knew she would come back some day, so I took care of the funeral myself by that time to ensure her body would be kept untouched and protected until then", he said, and grinned. "The way she got her vital signs awaken so fast shows she's much stronger than the first sealer".

"Agreed, my King", Kaldur nodded his head, with a thoughtful face.

"I guess that's enough knowledge for you?", King Arthur summarized, with a tired face of his own.

"Yes, my King. I'm sorry for bothering at such a late hour", Kaldur added, bowing before his mentor.

"Don't worry, you did right Kaldur'ahm. Now, you should go back to her, I think", and he gave Kaldur a fatherly smile.

Kaldur'ahm agreed and headed back to the palace's exit.

King Arthur watched as his protégée left. "You deserve to be happy too", he whispered to Kaldur, that didn't hear a word.

* * *

" _Aqualad, 018_ ", the zeta tube voice echoed in the headquarters.

Tula raised her head from the table she was with M'gann, Artemis, and Garfield, as most of the others already headed back to their own chambers or houses outside the HQ. She barely excused herself, rushing her steps towards Kaldur.

"Where were you?", she demanded with a slightly mad expression.

"I went to Atlantis, in order to notify the King about your return", Kaldur answered, with a smile that was helplessly brought by her presence.

"You couldn't wait for me, could you? Oh, Kaldur, the girls are _exhausted_ of entertaining me!", Tula exaggerated, fishing a giggle from Kaldur that made herself smile.

"You said you wanted to know everything, I let you hear everything, I expect", and he glimpsed at the table, getting some thumbs up in response. They sure updated Tula about the main topics. "Now, I reckon you accept some rest?"

"I sure do. My ears must be swollen by now", she teased, receiving boos from the remaining colleagues.

"Then, let's head home. After all, we already have some events to attend to", he slipped.

"Which events?", she asked, heading for the zeta tube with him.

Kaldur hesitated. "Well, a wedding", he admitted.

They stood by the tube. Their names started to be claimed.

" _Aqualad, 018. Aquagirl, unregistered_ ", said the robotic voice.

"Override", Kaldur whispered.

"Whose wedding?", Tula asked, smiling.

" _Aquagirl, L.O.V._ ", and they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> L.O.V. stands for "Level OVerride", or for "author's indulgence".
> 
> As you can see, everybody is shipping both of them, which may be a sort of indulgence on my part too.
> 
> I also know that the Atlantis' King is most commonly called "King Orm" by the atlantians in Young Justice. This is a mistake caused by extensive lazy canon research (as Aquaman is Arthur Curry). I'm going to fix it when I have more time, as I need to edit two chapters and I'm not used to the system that much yet.
> 
> This chapter's delay was due to college's test and stress. Luckily, I'm changing subjects every month - so, as a new month starts, I have more time to procrastinate studies and write!
> 
> Anyway, as I finally explained the hows and whys of Tula's resurrection, I intend to star with some Aqualove action in the next chapter! May the smut come! Keep tuned for the next chapter!


	5. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaldur and Tula come back to their hometown, but not for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'm sorry for the delay! I hope the chapter makes up for it!

When both atlantians emerged from the zeta tube to the Atlantis Palace, they breathed with relief. Even though they had noses and lungs, using the gills for breathing always felt more natural and comfortable – just like swimming instead of walking, and transmitting their voices through water instead of air.

"Is it good to be home", Kaldur commented, trying to avoid the wedding subject. "Where would you prefer to rest tonight?"

"I reckon my house is not around anymore, is it?", Tula asked. "Could I stay by your place?"

Kaldur let a smile appear with that question. "Of course, you're more than welcome there".

Tula thanked and followed Kaldur out of the palace, letting her eyes wander around the underwater citadel, whose lights were now dim and yellow, diminished because of the late-night time. The temples looked the same, just as much as the general disposition of the buildings.

Recognising something so dearly made Tula relax. While being updated by her friends, she feared that all those years away would have changed the world so much she would keep feeling out of place and unsuited in that reality. Atlantis and its ancient structures, alive for centuries and centuries to come, brought the woman the impression of coming back home after a long journey and finding everything satisfyingly in the exact place they were left.

This, actually, made her access some memories of her and Garth swimming on the outskirts, sometimes for training superior level magic on their own, sometimes for less noble purposes.

"Maybe we could bring Garth along, tomorrow morning?", she suggested, biting her lower lip. Speaking his name gave her a cold chill of anticipation and bad omens.

"I do not believe it is possible, Tula", Kaldur'ahm started to explain cautiously. "Garth will be occupied with the ceremony tomorrow".

The underlining message reached Tula's perception and it was like being suddenly struck by a thunder.

"Garth's the one who's marrying?", she asked blatantly.

Kaldur stopped swimming. They were in the first paths of Atlantis, and small rose marble apartments were the only witnesses of their conversation.

He looked deep into her eyes, trying to think of something he could do to help absorb the impact.

"Yes, he is, Tula", Kaldur said, nodding his head slowly, his eyes glued to her reaction.

To Kaldur's pure awe, she let a little smile out.

"That's good to hear. I was afraid he wouldn't cope with what happened", she admitted, in a quiet tone.

"…he invited you to the wedding", Kaldur said, still shocked by Tula's serene reaction.

"Really? That's really kind. You met him when you came back first?", she asked, continuing a swim.

Kaldur followed, getting back to lead them both to his home.

"Yes. He was crossing King Arthur's palace to reach for his rehearsal dinner". Kaldur decided that, if she was taking things so well, he would not hide anything from her.

"I see", Tula answered, and then both became silent.

Kaldur felt like a bubbling pot the whole route, gazing at Tula from time to time, worried about her feelings. Tula, however, seemed light-headed, looking around in a sort of silent trance. Having thought about that possibility before, Tula found it somehow easier to accept it and keeping her mind blank made it all more comfortable. Made it even… even, somehow, relieving. Because he was alive, happy, and loving again. Everything she desired before passing away, in such a pure and sincere way that made her did not mind at all being moved on.

They swam to the top of a marble tower in the east part of the city, through a window Kaldur opened with a key, letting Tula in first.

He had a small apartment with a privileged view to the palace's towers, decorated with photos of his family and friends in tables and walls. Her photo was right at the front table, a photo she remembered being taken at their first academy days, that he amplified and cut him and Garth away.

Kaldur did not mention a thing about the photo, even though Tula held the portrait for further analysing.

"There's a guests' room here. I'll just leave you some clothes and turn in to rest", he said, sounding quite exhausted.

"Sure. Thank you, Kaldur", Tula said, taking her eyes out of the portrait.

"If you need anything, please knock", he added. "You can eat all there is in the kitchen", he added, talking as he took pillows from a wardrobe in the room's corridor.

"Kaldur?", Tula called, demanding his attention.

"Yes?", he turned, pillows filling up his arms.

"Thank you for remembering me", she said, putting the portrait back to its place in the front table.

Kaldur gave her a smile that tingled in her heart.

"I don't forget any of my friends", he said. "And I sure would not forget my first and dearest friend".

After, he left the pillows at the room in front of his own and left to his chambers, leaving Tula alone.

Tired as he felt, Kaldur'ahm just changed his clothes and threw his body on his bed, relaxing his muscles one by one. As always, he thought of Tula, but this time, he didn't just miss her.

This time, he prayed that all would not just be a really convincing dream.

* * *

 

Tula slept in the next room for what felt like five hours, waking up at sunrise, when the light slowly entered the room and startled her dreamless slumber. Then, she walked to the window, watching as Atlantis' lights burned brighter and colourful, thinking about the portrait, about Kaldur, about Garth, about the wedding, about her loneliness.

He knocked at the door in the middle of the morning, greeting her with a sleepy smile that she found quite charming. They shared a rich breakfast and left for the commercial center, hunting formal clothing for both of them. At the first minutes, they were smiling and enjoying their time, however, the activity swiftly started feeling unpleasant, frustrating and angering.

They were at the third clothing store, hungry for lunch, completely unsuccessful in their errand when Tula understood what was feeling so wrong in all those dresses in and out.

"I don't wanna go", she suddenly said, from the fitting room.

"Found something you like?", Kaldur asked, sounding unpleased. "This makes me look like a lobster somehow", he murmured, shaking his head to the man in a sanguine suit in the mirror.

"I don't want to go to the wedding, Kaldur'ahm", she said, getting out of her fitting room.

Kaldur took the suit out in a hurry and got out of his fitting room without suit nor shirt, worried with her dead serious tone.

"You're not feeling well, Tula?", he asked.

"No, it's not it. It just does not makes sense, Kaldur", she said.

"What do you mean? Garth is our friend", he said, trying to get her point.

"Yes, he is, but what's the point in me going there? Today is the day of his future, and I'm already past. Unless you insist on going, I have no intentions of appearing anymore", she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, I do not insist. And I know Garth understands whatever decision you make – but you're most than welcome and-"

"Please, Kaldur. I  _know_  that", she sighed. "I know Garth better than I know my appearance right now. But if he found himself a new path, I can find my own too. I don't want to circle around him, pissing his new spouse off with my presence and pissing myself off by ruminating something that cannot be. For Neptune's beard, Kaldur, I loved him, I really did, but I want life. A new life", she concluded with an anxious smile.

Kaldur had his own heart galloping inside his chest. "Well, so where do you suggest we go?"

"Out. Let's pack a bag of clothes and wander Atlantis outskirts. Let's visit the Great Reefs, let's take some currents, let's see Heracleion with our own eyes", her smiles grew wider. "Are you retired or not?"

He laughed and nodded.

"Yes, I am retired", finding her outburst one of the world's greatest wonders.

Tula reached for his hand, entwining their fingers. Kaldur blinked, feeling his heart miss one or two beatings.

"Then come with me. Let's hit the currents", she said, with a confident smile.

* * *

 

By the time Garth and Lorena were sealing their vows at the Atlantis Palace, King Arthur saw, through a window, two figures in a carriage packed with simple bags. As he recognised his protégé, he smiled to himself, imagining that the cheering of the crowd was for Kaldur'ahm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heracleion, before you ask, is an ancient Egypt city from 8th century BC found in 2000 at Alexandria's off-coast, with sphinxes, temples, statues, columns and what-not in a great state of conservation underwater. Worth googling.
> 
> I hope you liked it! I don't intend to take the story much further. Yes, that means the smut is near. I hope you keep up with me until then!
> 
> Happy holidays for all of you!


	6. Rediscover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travelling the seas and retying their old friendship with the peaceful present, it's time old feelings finally bloom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm REALLY sorry about the 6-month hiatus. I had hit a wall with the fanfic and needed to concentrate in the university.
> 
> As a I'm sorry gift, here comes their first kiss.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Their next days were passed with a voyager's routine: at morning, Kaldur would help Tula hunt for fishes and freshly harvested algae. As she had more education in magic than Kaldur, usually she would hunt with ease, and he would use his field experience and identify eatable algae.

Breakfast would usually be filled with conversations about where to go on that day, and which currents to follow, and where to rest. It was safer to sleep on the surface, so they tried to follow the coastline as much as possible, leaving crossings for the next morning, where they would rise earlier and start swimming through the currents.

Normal lunches would be accompanied by flashbacks of their conservatory days or just silly games they played from their childhoods. With nobody else there to judge, their interactions were purer, more sincere, sometimes kind of naïve, and always true.

Dinner would usually happen at a beach or at the shore, where they would cast a fire and fry all the remaining fish and algae they collected at morning. Sometimes, if there was a city around, they would walk and buy juices, or order fresh baked goods, or buy dessert.

At night was when they stayed the nearest through the day, and when they would allow themselves to talk about delicate matters, updating on each other's feelings and thoughts.

On the fifth night of travelling, Tula took the courage to talk about the wedding they had escaped.

"Would you tell me who's Garth's spouse now?", she asked Kaldur while tasting some of the algae.

"Sure. Her name's Lorena. She became Aquagirl after you were gone", he told her. "She's a tad older than we are and really hot-headed", Kaldur explained.

"How did they met?", Tula asked.

Kaldur hesitated. "Are you sure you want to hear about that?"

Tula rolled her eyes. "I'm only asking about things that I know won't hurt me. I know my time".

The man shrugged and continued. "Well, I was in the undercover mission, so I only know the summary: she went back to the conservatory for training after a long time without practice. At that time, Garth had come back as a teacher after you left. They kept training together for weeks, and after she defeated him twice in the same day, he asked her out. Things evolved from there", Kaldur said.

Tula giggled. "That's so Garth, don't you think?"

Kaldur allowed him a smile in the subject. "Now that you mentioned, yes. Quite expected".

The moment passed, and silence prevailed upon them for some time. After finishing his fish, Kaldur was the one to break it:

"Do you miss him?"

Tula raised her head and found Kaldur's clear blue eyes fixated on hers.

"Yes, but no", she answered, throwing the rest of the algae to the fire.

"What do you mean?", he asked, his eyebrows frowning.

"I miss the idea of him", she answered. As Kaldur kept his expression confused, she elaborated. "This is weird, but… I don't feel jealous for Lorena or the wedding in any way. I'm truly happy for his life. Before I closed my eyes, I wished he would move on, and he did. How can I feel upset about this? It only takes a little thinking to conclude that you can't expect for any boyfriend who saw his girlfriend die in front of him miraculously wait for her during eight long years. He did right".

Kaldur swallowed, feeling quite guilty for, as she put it, "miraculously" expecting she would appear again, and failing in his every attempt at other relationships.

"However…?", he insisted, noticing she hasn't finished her thinking.

"I don't mourn losing him, I know we will be friends for the rest of our life. I miss… love, in general. The more I stay awake, more I perceive the time I've been out as if my memories of an infinite purgatory were coming back. The memories of the relationship I hav- I mean, I had, started fading, and I can't help but feel… utterly alone", she confessed, looking at Kaldur with an anguish that came from her heart and compressed her throat to the point of forcing her to whisper to pass her words across.

That almost gave Kaldur a heart attack. His soul and heart screamed in his mind, "I could give you love". He wanted to say that too, but afraid of misunderstanding things, remembering his conclusion of if Tula wanted that feeling from him, she would have taken the choice long ago, he swallowed dry and nodded his head.

"Now I understand. Thank you for telling me", he answered, pressing her hand for some precious instants.

The next moment, however, he turned to prepare for sleep. "We better sleep soon. We'll do the crossing tomorrow".

"Sure", Tula lowered her head. She felt that she had made him somehow upset, and found no ways of compelling that he had, in fact, a free pass to try to show his way of loving.

The next night, after a tiring crossing through the Pacific and its currents, they emerged from the water for fire and dinner at an island's beach. Although they behaved as if nothing was wrong, Tula kept thinking about their last conversation, about the loose strings between them.

So, as they waited for the fish to roast, she took the courage to another delicate matter:

"So… you never really told me what happened to you after I was gone", Tula said.

"There's not much, really. The other heroes told you everything. The undercover mission took most of the time, and then I retired", Kaldur answered, in a sincere tone.

"Really? You didn't go out with anybody or anything?", she asked, inclining her head to the side.

Kaldur gazed at Tula and blushed. Tula laughed, as he passed his hands over his face, trying to make the pink go away.

"Let it be, Kaldur! You look cute!", she asked, before holding his wrists delicately.

Kaldur froze for a moment. That was the nearest they got to be since the day she woke up and they hugged and held each other so close. Her touch was warm and soft, and everything he had been haunted by his dreams for so many years.

"As you wish", he answered, and lowered his hands, which kept being held by Tula.

"So? My answer?", she insisted, knowing that Kaldur would not tell if he did not want to tell.

"I tried", he confessed, which made Tula curious.

"What does 'tried' means?", she inquired.

"You want all my past romantic record?", he asked in a teasing tone, expecting to embarrass her, which did not happen.

"I do", she answered, smiling.

Kaldur'ahm sighed, cursing his own ideas for suggesting such an embarrassing thing.

"Well… after the mission you… Rocket and I went out for some time", he told Tula, which had her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "But she was soon chosen to integrate the Justice League, and we parted ways".

"Until which base did you two went?", Tula darted.

"W-what?", Kaldur gazed at her, almost shocked.

"What's the matter? We're both adult friends, Kaldur!", she laughed.

Well, they sure were, thought Kaldur. But it felt too weird to talk to Tula about his failed attempts to find love again.

"Shirtless, the both of us", he answered, simply, trying not to dwell on it too much.

"Aw, that's not much", Tula said, in a sigh that almost felt as if she was cheering for both, something that made Kaldur feel a tingle of sadness. "And next?"

"Then, I had some encounters with a woman here in Atlantis, but nothing happened beyond kisses. She soon got tired of waiting for me to come back from the surface", he told her. "Same thing happened with the woman after her, and the other woman after".

"It was always really hard waiting for you", Tula admitted, in a whisper that had a glimpse of guilt.

"I know", he nodded. "Then, Roy and I had… something".

"Wait, Roy? Red Arrow? Your best-surface-buddy?" Tula blinked.

"Yeah. I was surprised too", Kaldur'ahm said, but his smile was sad.

"So… what happened?", Tula understood by Kaldur's expression that it was not a happy ending.

"It was all going smooth, really. Then… We were going all the way, and I said someone else's name", he admitted, and let his eyes wander away.

"…I'm sorry, Kaldur", she said, as if she knew it was her own name that escaped from his lips.

He looked at her silently, for a whole moment, remembering himself she could not possibly know that piece of information and shook his head. "No need to be sorry. Truth is, I never found love in any of this people. And Roy actually already had someone to love. He passed through some rough times, but now, he has his own son".

"So you understand what I meant yesterday, about missing being truly loved, and not the idea of just… being with someone", she tried to say, noting the words had come wrong a moment too late.

Kaldur was already glancing her face with contained feelings, a painful expression that made his eyes lose their brightness.

"Maybe I desire for both", he admitted, letting his hands free from hers.

"Kaldur, I…", Tula whispered.

An awkward silence stood by them. Both sighed nervously, Kaldur trying not to think of the feelings for Tula that ached more and more each day, and Tula trying to find a way to open up about her thoughts to him.

Kaldur, however, was too tired and having trouble to deal with that hurt feeling to keep that conversation going. "Let's rest, Tula. I can't feel my legs properly", he joked, attracting a giggle from her.

She accepted resting but did not silence herself right away.

"Sleep well, Kaldur. You know I wish you all the best", she whispered, before rolling to her side.

Kaldur whispered back, "Sleep tight, Tula", and completed in his own thoughts, "I wish you find your happiness too".

The next handful of days was passed as leisure time, mainly. The islands had the richness of animals, corals, and volcanoes, with which they would race, play and be about. Most days would have turtle-back racing and lunch pauses with coconut and fish barbecues.

At night, they would hide in the plants and hear the natives play and sing amongst their families, and Tula would hold Kaldur's hand, while he would cover her shoulders with his arms, keeping each other together, their hearts beating in the same rhythm.

At a particularly calm day, they ended up on an empty island, having the night for their own private dinner and without having to hide from natives. Tula was sitting with her head on Kaldur shoulder, who meddled with the fire with a stick.

Emotions were bubbling more and more in the atlantean woman's chest, and each small touch she would trade with Kaldur during the day would fill her body with happiness and the impression of fulfilment she missed so much.

She noticed, then, that maybe she knew how to show her true feelings.

"Kaldur, do you remember when you came back to Atlantis, saying that you went back for… for me?", she asked him, in a murmur that made her voice husky and warm.

Kaldur took a while to answer, fearing that he would be rejected again, even though he had not taken a move.

"I do", he answered then, simply.

"Later, Garth told me you asked him of what would have happened if he had chosen the King's offer, and you stayed", she said.

"And I answered I never questioned that", Kaldur remembered that moment as his ultimate compromise with his hero duties.

"You know… I have always wondered", Tula revealed, attracting Kaldur's gaze. His light blue eyes gleamed. "We were all friends, but truth is, before you went, I always had admired you the most, Kaldur", she said his name with care.

Kaldur'ahm felt as if he had lost his voice forever. Tula felt her face paint itself a red tone, but she did not stop. She courageously lifted a hand and touched Kaldur's cheek.

"I think… I think I would like to stop wondering now. I'd like to think… that I was given the chance to stop", she said, her sky-blue eyes shining in the dark. "If you would accept me, that is".

Kaldur's world disappeared for a moment, and his gravity centre was changed from the centre of the Earth to Tula's direction. She saw the wider and most beautiful smile Kaldur ever gave grow, conquering all over his face before turning into a laughter.

"What, was I that ridiculous?", she asked, insecure for a moment.

"I could never deny you", he answered, and freed of his fears of rejection, pulled her against him, covering her mouth with his own lips.

Tula closed her eyes and passed her arms around Kaldur's body, just like in their first hug after her awakening. His kiss was calm, yet, it felt right, it felt like how she should have been kissed her entire life. She caressed his skin, and he caressed her face, her hair, her shoulders, like he always wanted his entire life, in all of his wildest dreams, and it felt as if he had been doing it for years.

Their bodies fell together in the sand, and Kaldur suddenly got up and carried Tula with him, to the water, away from those nasty grains all over their skin. She gripped herself at the back of his neck, laughing from the sudden movement, and both fell in the water, immediately tangling into each other's bodies as they let the kiss flow more naturally, with no floor to limit them, turning and spinning and pressing each other in the water, atlantean style.

Kaldur interrupted the kiss to hold Tula's face, to glare at her eyes as he confessed:

"I loved you, and I love you still, Tula".

"And I am glad to love you back, Kaldur'ahm", she said, her eyes filled with happiness.

He filled her face with small kisses, fishing giggles from her as he swam both of them back to the surface.

That night, they slept with their bodies together, Kaldur with one arm under Tula and another over her body, keeping her close and warm, as she kept one hand in his heart and another around him.

He dreamt of sunny days and happiness, as she passed some time in the night thinking about what she wanted to do next with him, in not exactly noble purposes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to all of KalTula lovers who have always wished to read a sincere kiss from them and to ERA-7 from deviantArt, whose comment indirectly gave me fuel and ideas to make this chapter as natural as it needed to be.
> 
> Promised smut is next door. I promise to make it soft and spicy. x3


	7. Reunion, first union

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tula and Kaldur are finally able to conjoin their feelings, enticed by but not under the effect of aphrodisiacs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to the last chapter of Second Chances! I'm proud to have finished this project. Have a nice reading!
> 
> **WARNING**
> 
> Not Safe For Work ahead, viewer's discretion is advised.
> 
> This chapter is rated M.

It was a normal day of travelling. Having already explored the Pacific islands, both were determined to cross the circle of fire, with its wildlife and mysteries, trusting each other like never before to take care of themselves.

Every little discovery, such as rare fishes or glowing corals never seen before, was a pleasant surprise responsible for easy smiles, and every easy smile was turned into a kiss by both of them. They would swim with fingers intertwined, each day more incapable to stay a single inch away from each other.

Kaldur'ahm pinched himself every single morning. The feeling of fulfilment and happiness was so complete, so peaceful, that it was hard not fearing it was all a lie. Looking at Tula, holding her hand, kissing her lips so dearly - the dearest he ever kissed somebody - Kaldur started relaxing. The only thing he allowed himself to fear was to have forgotten how to take care of a relationship – but he knew he could learn again, and faster, with her by his side. Kaldur was finally allowed to be himself. Tula would sometimes be scared by loud, long laughs bursting out of Kaldur, and be perplexed by carefree attitudes the Aqualad she knew would never take.

Tula, likewise Kaldur, felt complete. More than complete, actually; she felt as if she finally found a thing, or a place, that she always dreamed of, and now all of her life made perfect sense. And although it was unfair to think like that, Tula already felt more comfortable near Kaldur than she used to with Garth. She remembered learning how to love Garth, putting effort for it to work, both sides switching and changing to match each other. With Kaldur, doing such things would be nonsense; the more she was herself, and spoke her mind, and laughed and joked and played as she felt like it, more she and Kaldur would get closer, and better the kisses would be.

It was the third day after their first kiss that Tula started wondering if making love with Kaldur would be as natural.

Kaldur, however, has not done any advances in that aspect. At night, when they would lay together, share longer kisses and caresses, sometimes the air around would get warmer and his hands would get firmer and his hold, tighter, as if he did not want to let go, as if he wanted her all to himself. "As he should have done from the start", Tula thought to herself, always worried with Kaldur'ahm tendency of self-sacrifice.

However, he would soothe the fire between them with a kiss on her forehead, and remember her how tired she got from travelling all day long, and Tula would succumb to sleep without insisting much.

Her memories were still changing, though. There was now an abyss between her last mission, eight years ago, and her wake, some months ago. If it wasn't for Kaldur's fulfilling presence, Tula knew she would be tiptoeing near madness.

Nevertheless, that still meant there was a void trying to grow inside her, a void that mixed with the fire and chemistry that naturally grew between them was slowly turning into an attraction towards Kaldur Tula had no intentions of hiding or avoiding.

On the fourth day, they crossed a current and found themselves in a thermal area, a sort of valley between submarine volcanoes that left the water lighter, clearer and absolutely delicious to dive in.

"Tula, my dear, mind taking a peek from the island's view?", Kaldur asked, softly, noticing a little bit of coast north of where they were.

"Why would I?", she smiled back, and he kissed her fingertips in acknowledgement.

Both surfaced to face a forgotten, untouched island, white soft sand under their feet, crystal clear blue sea and an indigo sky from the twilight about to start. Regretting not bringing a camera for that trip, they dropped their bags near a dead trunk half-buried in sand and went for a walk.

Kaldur was concentrated in trying to memorize that image, Tula in the sun walking beside him, her clear skin in perfect contrast with the tone of his own skin, smiling at him everytime he touched her.

Tula, on the other hand, looked around awed with how much nature thrived on the island, with bustling, flowering trees clinging over the landline.

She felt a sweet and familiar scent – the scent of hibiscus, which spoke to Tula's attraction. She remembered vaguely about it being an aphrodisiac of some sort, and without a word, she left Kaldur's hand to follow the smell.

"Tula? Where are you-", he started asking before feeling the smell too and blushing a bit.

He followed Tula closely, between branches and leaves, until they stumbled into an old and tall hibiscus tree, in full bloom.

At its roots, there were remains of what resembled a vine bed, and writings made a knife of some sort: "Here, Orm and Mera sealed their love in the form of their first heir", it was written.

Tula blushed, and Kaldur laughed loudly, his eyes wide and surprised to find such an intimate secret about the Atlantis realty.

"I really didn't expect the King to be this romantic…", Kaldur mentioned, leaning his hand softly in the carved word "love". "What do you think, Tula?"

She didn't answer, vanished again.

"Tula?", Kaldur called out, trying not to panic. He was pinching himself, afraid the perfect dream was somehow ended, until he heard something land behind him.

When he turned, Tula was there, blushed, a twig with two hibiscus flowers in hand.

The message was clear: she offered for them to share the flowers, and then, share their bodies. An old tradition they had seen some natives in their travels do. Kaldur blushed too but did not stutter.

"Thank you, Tula", he said, picking one of the flowers. "But we don't need the flowers".

Tula felt embarrassed and confused, and let the hand that held the twig drop, feeling that he was kindly rejecting her.

Kaldur touched her chin in the next moment, with a kind smile on his lips.

"I'd be honoured to experience love this way with you", he whispered, shyly.

Tula could not hold herself any longer. She threw the twig to one side and circled his shoulders with her arms, kissing his mouth with the love they were getting used to, and a new found hunger for him. Kaldur answered by hugging her by the waist, glueing their bodies until there was no space for air between them, kissing her with a little bit less of the infinite care he usually did.

"I love you, Kaldur. I want to experience everything there is to experience in your love", Tula confessed, holding Kaldur's face between her hands. "Show me – all of it".

"Let's go to the sea, then", Kaldur said, taking Tula by the hand, fueled with a new urgency after hearing her words.

They ran to the beach, the air between them getting hotter and hotter by the instant, mixed with the sweet scent of flowers and the adored scent of sea. Before getting to the water, Kaldur turned and held Tula into his arms, sitting her on a tall stone that left their heads on the same level, tugging her body by her legs against his own body.

He kissed her mouth again, this time intensely, discovering her lips and teeth with his own tongue and earning whimpers from Tula in return. She could feel his body against hers, his strong torso pressing her breasts, his abdomen a centre of heat making her own insides warm up too. Her hands pulled his shirt out, the atlantean female craving for his skin, for his touch, for knowing Kaldur better and more intimately than he himself knew.

As fast as his shirt hit the sand, her top hit the sand too, Kaldur's wantings matching Tula's. And once he pressed their bodies together, both felt breathless and needed a moment to appreciate each other's touch, each other's skins and curves and forms perfectly matching each other. It was a soothing, calming sensation with the power of addiction.

"Tula, I… I dreamt so much about this", Kaldur admitted, kissing the tips of her shoulders.

Tula shivered. "Not more than I did", she admitted, blushing again.

Kaldur widened his eyes, caught by surprise. He left a trail of soft, humid kissed from her left shoulder to her left ear, nibbling on it before asking. "You did too?"

"You weren't the only one to say the wrong name once", Tula confessed, as Kaldur kissed her neck and had to contain himself not to bite her out of surprise and arousal.

He felt like the most stupid person in the world for doubting Tula would ever want to be by his side, feeling his instincts and deepest desires take over. "I'll make up for it", he promised and brought a hand to Tula's pants.

As he opened her zipper, Tula moaned after hearing his promise and kissed him again, wet and wild and filled with more desire than she ever felt in her whole life. Her nails scratched his chest and his abdomen, earning a delighted grunt from Kaldur in return that made Tula want to pin him to the floor. He left her mouth to kiss her collarbones, while the hands undressed her from pants and panties altogether, laying a naked Tula flat on the warm rock.

He throwed her clothes together with his and when he looked back, Kaldur'ahm gasped and pinched himself again. It felt like a wet dream, seeing Tula naked over a plain rock, face flushed and arms over her head, her blue eyes on him matching the sly smile her lips gave.

"Catfish stole your tongue?", she teased, when Kaldur stayed there, frozen as a statue, with only his wide eyes running madly around the curves of her body.

Her attitude was just what Kaldur needed to smile too, an asymmetrical and naughty smile so rare and so charming that made Tula gasp and stop smiling. He opened her legs gently, just enough to find space to bend himself over her, cupping her breasts in his hands. She closed her eyes as he started massaging them, his fingers making her pores raise, increasing her sensibility.

He still caught her by surprise when she suddenly felt his tongue caress the tip of her right nipple, stealing a moan from her with the right name in it: "Kaldur!"

He smiled, silently, and looked up only to find her eyes looking down, her face matching the tone of her hair. Without breaking eye-contact, Kaldur licked, and stroked, and sucked on that nipple, and then changed over for the left breast as his index and thumb kept stroking her excited right nipple gently, proving he still had a tongue.

Feeling too excited, Tula had no option but to look away, rolling her eyes in an attempt of bearing with all of the tingling sensations, moans rolling off her mouth with no holding back. There were no people in miles to hear her, and she wanted Kaldur to hear all of the pleasure he gave her.

He left her left breast and started a trail of soft kisses in her strong abdomen, caressing her lines with the tip of his lips, biting her waist, licking on the lines under her bellybutton that lead to her crotch. Tula's legs started trembling, and he held them to provide support, teasing her while his tongue circled her inner thighs.

He stopped for a mere second, and Tula thought they were going to the water, believing all those lower kisses were pure teasing, when a soft, warm and wet tongue touched her smaller lips, making her hips jerk against Kaldur's face and deepen his touch into her, causing the surprised moan she started become a long, almost tortured one, loud and almost primal in her pleasure.

He stroked her with the tip of his tongue all around her, exploring much like he did to her mouth in an adoring tone, discovering her soft spots and stroking them with all the dedication only a lifetime of love could give someone. Tula moaned louder and louder, pressing her own breasts, circling his head with her thighs, screaming his name like nothing else mattered in the world – and nothing else really did.

She felt all her desire flow into her lower belly, making all of her shiver and quiver. Her voice became urgent and warning, as she felt she was about to be drowned in pleasure. Kaldur felt it and intensified his touched, burying his face between her tights.

Tula tangled her fingers in his hair and screamed on the top of her lungs when she felt the sensation overflow her senses: "I lo-o-o-ve you, Kaldur'ahm!"

He stopped, giving both some time and space to breathe, finding himself utterly happy and aroused in equal parts for being able to give Tula such good sensations.

"You're okay?", he asked her, holding her waist with care, preventing her spasming body of falling out of the rock.

"This was the best orgasm I've ever...", Tula started saying before noticing what exactly she was admitting, which made her cover her face in embarrassment.

Kaldur left out another one of those open, loud and long laughter that made Tula happy for just existing and being able to hear. He bent over her and whispered in her ear, making her belly burn again:

"I'm very content to hear that, but... We just started, dearest", Kaldur said, and with a tug, he lifted the atlantean woman in his arms.

Tula left out a cry of surprise, hugging Kaldur's waist with her legs when she noticed he was kicking his pants out of his body. The idea of having Kaldur, naked, in contact with all of her own body naked made Tula shiver once again and share an expression filled with desire with Kaldur'ahm's eyes.

They entered the water with a kiss, and kissing they let their breaths turn from their noses to their gills, while they got deeper and deeper into the water, until there was a building of space between them and the open air, and they coiled no longer feel their own weights, only the sensation of warm love they shared floating into space.

Neither Tula or Kaldur could recall moments later who started it, but the kisses turned into the sweetest caresses. The touches of each other's fingertips were so light, and yet so devote, Kaldur learned Tula's body by heart, and Tula learned Kaldur's skin by heart, and before they noticed, both bodies had mingled for themselves and fitted each other; Tula fulfilled by Kaldur, Kaldur wrapped by Tula.

In the infinite floating of the ocean, there was almost no effort needed to move hips, nor the need to stretch awkwardly for desired positions. Kaldur thrust inside Tula without any hurry, savouring every single moment of that act, finally being able to watch Tula's expression change and finally feeling her moans against his own lips. Tula, on the other hand, felt the world run faster with each jerk her hips gave against Kaldur's thrusts, making her feel like a living volcano being filled by a firestorm.

As her body grew warmer, Kaldur lost his own control. His arms circled her body and pulled her harder, and faster, while his mouth kissed and bit everything he could reach: her earlobes, her neck, her nipples, her own lips. Tula crossed her limit once again and came, hard and intense and shouting his name with almost animal urge, but he didn't stop. The more she quivered, the more her insides pressed and massaged Kaldur's throbbing erection, making it impossible for Kaldur to restrain himself, drowning him in a sea of pleasure, desire and unforgettable love that pushed him near madness. Tula came a second time, and a third time, each time stronger, faster and screaming more desperately, filling Kaldur each time with more satisfaction.

Tula was about to cross her limit a fourth time and was sure she would pass out when she heard Kaldur's moans get deeper and louder and absolutely tortured. He was about to come too, and by the looks of things, they were in sync. Curious and hypnotized by Kaldur's satisfaction, Tula glued her forehead to his and used her last efforts to move her hips and press him inside her, rolling her eyes at the same time he closed his, his love overflowing in her stomach as he pulled out at the last second.

Tula wrapped her arms around Kaldur's shoulder and gave herself time to regain her breath before beating his back with a closed fist.

"Wh-what did I-", Kaldur tried to ask, still breathless.

"Who said you could pull out?", Tula asked, feigning anger, incapable to stop smiling.

"But Tula, that could give you a child", Kaldur started explaining the obvious.

"I want one", Tula blurted out, and her eyes were the most serious Kaldur had ever seen.

He needed a moment to learn how to make his heart beat again. In the next moment, he pulled the hand that had beaten him to kiss her fingers.

"Would you be my family, Tula?", Kaldur asked, not bothering to ask her for dating or marriage after so many years lost to duty and death.

"It would be my honour, Kaldur'ahm", Tula said, pecking his lips what felt to be a thousand times before he could get a hold of her face.

She stopped kissing, and paying attention to Kaldur, she was confronted with a famished expression paired with a sly smile that made Kaldur look even sexier than he usually already did.

"Well, I guess I should start again and fulfil my woman's wishes", he murmured to her in a deep tone.

And although the objective was a child, Tula knew he would fulfil much more than that one desire.

-THE END-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, to the end of this brief, sweet episode.
> 
> Although I started it by impulse and because of a feeling of duty towards rule 35, I tried to express all my respect and love for this couple that is totally underestimated.
> 
> As I said before, this was my first try at writing smut in english, so please tell me what did you think of it!
> 
> I'm already having ideas for a oneshot with Tula and Kaldur, and I intend to make it a really spicier smut.
> 
> Anyway, see you next time! Hope you like it!


End file.
